Friday, April 23, 2010

time away from time

I often told my children stories- some made up, some repeated, some to teach...and some plucked from the clouds floating over head. Often times, laying like that- with one foot propped upon the opposite knee with free toes wiggling against the bluest beautiful background of a Midwestern sky- shapes would form from the clouds and we'd call out to one another-"See the pig?!" "And how about that one...it looks like a dragon or a sea horse, do you see that?""No, that looks more like a castle!" (Mathew always saw fortresses and dragons, Lily- wild, free soaring creatures, Emma saw princesses and evil queens and Beau almost always saw mountains with giants and gnome like creatures. Isn't that odd, to wonder on the same sky and the same clouds and yet still, see different things?
And speaking of different things, I wonder- do others conceive of garden beds as actual little beds for their childlike seeds? Do you straddle a furrow with your knees on either side and gently though firmly, place each seed in the coolness of the earth there and tuck it in, as if putting it to bed hoping in time, the "child" will rise from it's sleep in a burst one day, stretching itself in the sun? I think of these things while tending the newly tilled garden- as if I am not a farmer, but a mother tending to her children. And this may be a really weird way to look at it or even read about, but can I tell you something? When in anything you do, you feel of your higher self or feel washed over in a way that the eyes cannot see but the something in you recognizes this loveliest of feelings, it is worth repeating...

We have all known it, at one time or another- this simple recognition of serenity. In our babies, our kisses, fishing, scents and sunshine...fleeting moments that have long since passed but left a trace like a stitch in the tapestry of our lives. It is here. It is there. But in the rush of living we cannot know it. It is not in the cell phone, TV, computer...it is in the moment. Only you in a moment of time unrecognized by any apparatus or book or voice- will know. To live, to be all that you are comes from recognizing in the moment- the fullness of it.

Take time away from time soon, wiggle your toes towards the clouds...let the sun seep in and the grass tickle your neck.
Take care-

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I enjoyed reading this and it reminded me of back when I did used to garden...crawling along the newly tilled rows, patting little baby broccoli plants into the soil, tucking them in, as you said, and saying a little prayer for them. One by one. Ahhhhhhh. Wonderful moments! Yes!

K, I am so glad to have you here again, your poetic comments always inspire further thought into the original stories, I love that.And I'm glad you understand the gardening on one's knees- I always say it's for my back...but truly, it is the most intimate encounters with the earth one can know. Good to hear from you...hope all is well.

This expresses just exactly how I felt on Cumberland Island during our stay there. Fully connected to time... with no electronic distraction. The bird song was louder, the breezes were more soothing, and I was conscious of my own breath. Beautiful.